Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James reacts after stealing the ball from the Atlanta Hawks and driving the court for a slam against the Hawks as Hawks Kent Bazemore walks away during game four of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, May 26, 2015, in Cleveland. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT AP

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James reacts after stealing the ball from the Atlanta Hawks and driving the court for a slam against the Hawks as Hawks Kent Bazemore walks away during game four of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, May 26, 2015, in Cleveland. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUT AP

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18. Blanton Collier. In 1964, three seasons after he had parted ways with UK, Collier coached the Cleveland Browns of Jim Brown, Paul Warfield and Frank Ryan past the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship Game.

17. More Kentucky ties. The 1964 champion Browns also included former UK players Tom Hutchinson and Bob Gain and former Louisville standout Ernie Green.

16. Defining futility. The Cleveland Indians have not won the World Series since 1948. The Cavaliers have never won the NBA title. So 51 years since Collier's NFL championship, it remains Cleveland's most recent title.

15. A triumphant return by the King? LeBron James delivering the elusive major pro sports championship to Cleveland in the first year after the prodigal son returned to Northeast Ohio would be as compelling as American sports stories get.

14. Ben Rhodes. To the disappointment of Kentucky Speedway officials, the Louisville teenager — seventh at Iowa Speedway in his first Xfinity Series race for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports — is not slated to drive when the Xfinity Series runs in Sparta on July 10.

13. Rhodes' schedule. The recent graduate of Holy Cross High School in Louisville is next scheduled to run for JR Motorsports at Chicagoland Speedway on June 20.

12. The Man himself. Kentucky Speedway ticket sellers are thrilled, however, by who will be driving the No. 88 in the Kentucky 300 — it is Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself.

11. Mark Simendinger. "I love it," the Kentucky Speedway General Manager said of having Earnhardt Jr. running in the Xfinity Series in Sparta for the first time. "If you are a NASCAR fan in Kentucky, what can be better than a chance to see Dale Jr. at Xfinity Series prices?"

10. A bargain. According to the Kentucky Speedway website, tickets for the Sprint Cup Quaker State 400 are available at $109, $89 or $59. Seats to see the Xfinity Series race, conversely, are $39 or $59.

9. Dan McDonnell. The Louisville baseball coach has the Cardinals in an NCAA Tournament Super Regionals for the third year in a row. The Cards are two victories away from McDonnell's fourth trip to the College World Series as U of L head man.

8. Stellar work. Across all sports, I'm not sure any coach in Kentucky has done a better job than McDonnell.

7. UAB re-instates football. The reversal is a triumph for the school's student body, alumni and boosters who simply refused to accept the decision that shut down football. UAB is now rebuilding its program completely from scratch. As post-death-penalty SMU can attest, that is not an easy thing to do.

6. The Governor's Cup news conference. After last year's controversy that saw Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops decline to appear at the summertime event that has historically previewed the Kentucky-Louisville football game, the event is back. It will be Wednesday at Frankfort Country Club.

5. The count. So Stoops and Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino will be previewing the 2015 Cats-Cards football showdown exactly 178 days before the Nov. 28 game. So what? Anything that can steer the summer conversation onto the pigskin at the epicenter of Planet Hoops is A-OK.

4. Jeff Brohm. The Western Kentucky head man is also scheduled to appear. The former Louisville standout quarterback will be honored for his contributions to football in the commonwealth.

3. Question for Stoops. How in the world does UK replace the defensive production lost with NFL Draft picks Bud Dupree and Za'Darius Smith?

2. Question for Petrino. After a season when Louisville started three different quarterbacks, can he settle on one QB in 2015?

1. Question for Brohm. Will WKU find enough defense to allow its prolific offense a chance to make the Hilltoppers into "this season's Marshall?"

About Mark Story

I am a native Kentuckian, a graduate of North Hardin High School (Radcliff) and the University of Kentucky. I came to the Herald-Leader in the glamorous position of agate clerk on Aug. 27, 1990. Since that time, I’ve worked as small-college beat reporter, sports enterprise/investigative reporter and, since August, 2001, as a full-time sports columnist.